Your integrated graphics allow your computer to run multimedia content such as videos and games, but can also be utilized for work purposes.
To identify your Intel Graphics Driver version, open Device Manager and expand the Display Adapters section. Right-click Intel Display Adapter and choose Properties from its right-click context menu.
Alternately, press Windows Key + R and type “msinfo32” in the command prompt – this will display your driver version number.
What is a Graphics Driver?
Graphic drivers are software programs that enable communication between your computer and its display hardware, enabling it to run programs or games requiring advanced graphics capabilities. Without this vital piece of software, some programs and games would simply not run, making it necessary to keep graphic drivers up-to-date at all times. It is thus vitally important that graphic drivers remain current.
Run the msinfo32 command from your Run dialog box to easily identify your graphics driver version. This will give a full list of drivers installed on your system; click Display adapter section to view additional information and locate appropriate entry. When that’s complete, look at Driver tab to reveal graphics driver version information.
Binary and source drivers exist for graphics hardware. Binary drivers are developed and distributed by Intel or the manufacturer of your specific piece of hardware, and designed to work only with certain versions of Windows. Meanwhile, source drivers are developed under an open-source license so users can customize them to meet their individual needs.
Typically, graphics drivers implement a set of functions to manage memory used by graphics hardware. This may include memory allocation/freeing functions and compositor control functions to manage output for applications using this hardware. Modern chipsets often have more memory available for display purposes than required; any excess buffers can be utilized by applications or the compositor function to improve performance by minimizing context calls needed to render simple graphics objects.
Graphics drivers serve as an intermediary between hardware and the operating system, translating operating system function calls to device specific functions. A unique display driver may be needed depending on which operating system uses different sets of function calls; each display driver must therefore be compatible with every operating system that calls upon it.
Be mindful that your graphics driver won’t always be supported; eventually the manufacturer may move to a stable driver release that no longer needs updating and optimizing, rendering your driver no longer as functional or performant as when initially installed on your system.
How to Update Your Graphics Driver
Staying current with your graphics driver updates is key to optimizing the performance of your GPU. Updates typically provide performance upgrades, bug fixes or new features – such as taking advantage of advanced settings like gaming mode or increasing framerate by an impressive margin. Installing the appropriate Intel Graphics Driver in Windows 10 can be difficult but we’ve put together three methods that should help.
First of all, use Windows Update’s built-in updater tool if your PC features integrated graphics; its drivers have been certified by Microsoft’s Hardware Quality Labs (WHQL) to be stable. Navigating to Start > Settings > Update & Security then Windows Update tab, will then scan for available updates to identify drivers that require updating and install them automatically if they exist.
If you prefer taking a more direct route, downloading drivers directly from their manufacturer’s website might be best. Once done, follow their documentation’s instructions to install them on your PC. However, be mindful that downloading and installing drivers manually is an inherently risky endeavor which could cause errors if performed incorrectly.
One option for updating drivers quickly and efficiently is using a professional driver update utility such as Driver Easy, which is an easily accessible free program that quickly scans for outdated drivers before automatically downloading and installing their appropriate versions – saving both time and energy!
Driver Easy also features the capability of backing up and restoring current drivers in case an error arises; this feature can be especially beneficial if you are uncomfortable tinkering with them manually. However, we advise experimenting with first two methods before resorting to using an external utility tool.
How to Install a Graphics Driver
Intel graphics drivers are used by PCs with built-in or external video cards to control display. They ensure smooth operations and optimal performance from your graphics card, providing optimal experience on the PC. Whether experiencing issues or simply updating, there are several methods you can take. Windows Update makes this task straightforward by automatically searching and downloading available driver updates; making the entire process convenient.
Your graphics driver can also be updated manually by visiting its manufacturer’s website and downloading the most up-to-date driver. Once downloaded, simply follow the installation instructions to install it onto your PC – this typically takes only minutes and may require you to reboot after completion.
If your PC requires custom drivers for its hardware, installing new drivers is simple: click Start then Device Manager, locate Intel graphic card entry then Driver tab then Update Driver Software button then follow on-screen instructions for installation process.
On a Mac, updating your graphics driver is easily done by visiting the Intel website and downloading the latest driver for your model of video card. After the file has downloaded, double-click it to install it by following on-screen instructions. If you’re having difficulty updating, try our Troubleshooting Wizard for Intel(r) Graphics or contact support for assistance.
Linux users looking to take advantage of hardware video acceleration should install either the mesa package from multilib’s repository, which includes modern Gallium3D drivers for Intel Gen 8 hardware and later, or mesa-amber which contains non-Gallium3D classic drivers that offer better performance and stability on Gen 2 and older hardware. If desired, they can also install the lib32-dri3-intel package to enable hardware video acceleration via Xorg.
What is a Generic Graphics Driver?
Graphics drivers are software programs that convert operating system function calls into instructions understood by graphics hardware adapters, making these essential for modern video game playing which place significant demands on a GPU and require up-to-date drivers for optimal performance. Furthermore, graphics drivers offer additional benefits including enhanced energy efficiency and smarter RAM allocation; which increases productivity overall on PCs. As such, most gamers and PC users strive to keep their graphic drivers updated.
Updating one’s computer drivers usually involves visiting its manufacturer’s website and inputting information such as GPU model number, OS version number and display adapter identifier number from Windows Explorer (Adapter tab) or BIOS menu of Intel motherboards – these details allow manufacturers to find matching sets of drivers from their databases; sometimes this requires uninstalling previous ones before installing new ones.
As opposed to OEM-approved drivers, generic drivers from device manufacturers tend to be released more regularly for updating purposes, enabling them to incorporate any game optimisations or bug fixes that OEM-approved drivers don’t always include – for instance Intel’s recent driver updates for 6th Generation CPU platforms provide various visual enhancements which can be enabled via IDSA (Intel Insider Software Application).
Matrox, a premier 2D/3D graphics card manufacturer, offers drivers that have been specifically certified for use with specific professional applications. These drivers undergo extra reliability tests in order to guarantee their functionality with complex 2D/3D software solutions.
Open-source operating systems like Linux often enable non-manufacturers to develop and manage their own display drivers; Matrox GXM products (Graphics eXpansion Modules) feature such a driver called xf86-video-matrox that can be found on their company website for download.
Additionally to allowing independent developers to maintain their own display drivers, the Linux kernel itself provides basic display driver functionality through its fbdev and udl/drm drivers. For users looking for something more advanced than this option, Libdlo’s display driver project has recently been integrated into mainline x.org’s drm-next tree and provides full hardware support for DisplayLink’s USB graphics technology.
